Vacuum tube lifter JumboFlex for manual handling of passenger baggage at Hanover airport

After the check in, the employees reload the passenger baggage several times until it ends up in the airplane. The journey of the average 18 kg heavy baggage pieces starts in the sorting system, which transports the suitcases and bags at the right time to the right place. The baggage of every single flight is assigned to a particular chute. The employees have the task to reload the baggage pieces from the chute into an apron trolley, to finally get to the airplane. With a volume of more than 4.5 million baggage pieces per year (as of 2010), the employees have to face high physical strains. With an average of 18 kg per baggage, a total of approximately 220 tons comes up. To relieve the employees, the Airport decided to testwise operate with a vacuum tube lifter of Schmalz.

The vacuum tube lifter JumboFlex 35 is connected to a crane system and relieves the groundhandler from the loads. The tube lifter lifts baggage of up to 35 kg without much effort. The ergonomic, single-hand operation enables wire-less and flexible working for right-handed and left-handed employees. The operating element of the tube lifter is equipped with a radio control SRC. The operator can switch the pump on and off directly at the operating unit. The radio control guarantees increases in production and energy cost savings. Due to the standardized 2-in-1 gripper, the tube lifter can handle as well suitcases as bags. The simple rotating mechanism allows the user to switch from the vacuum baggage gripper to a mechanical single-hook. The crane system, to which the tube lifter is mounted, is designed with extreme ease of movement of the aluminum crane rail. With a maximum dimension of 8 x 30 m the crane system covers the whole working area.